NoteDiscovery vs SilverBullet
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
NoteDiscovery
Self-hosted Markdown knowledge base with graph view
VS
SilverBullet
Hackable note-taking for the self-hosted web
| Feature | NoteDiscovery | SilverBullet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,812 | ★ 6,142 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Notion, Obsidian |
What are NoteDiscovery and SilverBullet?
NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery is a self-hosted Markdown knowledge base featuring wikilinks, a graph view, a drawing editor, and LaTeX and Mermaid rendering. It is designed for building and exploring a connected personal knowledge base.
- Wikilinks and graph view
- Drawing editor
- LaTeX and Mermaid support
- Self-hosted knowledge base
SilverBullet
SilverBullet is an extensible, Markdown-based note-taking web app that you can run on your own server and access from any browser. It targets users who want a programmable personal knowledge tool. It is deployed via Docker or Deno.
- Markdown-based with live queries
- Extensible via Space Script
- Works offline as a PWA
- Plain file storage
NoteDiscovery vs SilverBullet: key differences
NoteDiscovery is written in JavaScript, while SilverBullet is built with TypeScript. SilverBullet is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for NoteDiscovery. SilverBullet is the more established project (first released 2022), while NoteDiscovery arrived in 2024. SilverBullet has the considerably larger community, at 6,142 GitHub stars versus 2,812.
Why pick each one
Choose NoteDiscovery if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose SilverBullet if…
- Highly hackable
- Lightweight
- Files stay portable
Watch out for
- Niche and DIY-oriented
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is NoteDiscovery or SilverBullet better?
SilverBullet is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider NoteDiscovery if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are NoteDiscovery and SilverBullet free and open-source?
Yes. NoteDiscovery is licensed under MIT and SilverBullet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NoteDiscovery and SilverBullet with Docker?
NoteDiscovery: yes. SilverBullet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, NoteDiscovery or SilverBullet?
SilverBullet has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for NoteDiscovery. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.